


Ink

by chasethewind



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Established Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Tattoos, Tumblr Prompt, Twelve Days of Fic-mas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 10:42:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2809430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasethewind/pseuds/chasethewind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>duaedenateist answered: You know how we always write about Felicity getting an arrow tattoo, yeah I want Oliver to have a Felicity themed tattoo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ink

**Author's Note:**

> My gift to you this holiday season: 12 prompts I've randomly picked from my Tumblr queue that I'll be writing and posting every day until Christmas. Happy holidays, everyone! I hope you enjoy!

_Some decisions should be made drunk. Others should be made sober. Tattoos… They're in a category of their own. Just make sure you don't end up with a heart on your ass. That's all I'm saying._

Tommy's words from days past suddenly popped into his head as he lay there, his shirt shoved up under his chin as the man with the tattoo gun etched another black line into his skin.

That conversation had happened nearly nine years ago, on his twenty-first birthday just before his best friend had thrown him the party to end all parties. They both knew they'd be getting completely wasted that night and made a pact not to get some stupid tattoo just because someone suggested it. Luckily, it hadn't happened, but the words stuck with him.

Now, as the tattoo artist filled in the new character on his abdomen with black ink, Oliver realized he'd made the right decision. After all, no one but him knew what those characters meant, and he had no intention of telling anyone, but if someone did ask, he'd only tell them about the last one, the one that meant the most to him.

When it was finished, he paid the man and left.

The next few days were quiet in the foundry. Oliver and Roy simply patrolled the city, making sure the robbers and carjackers were kept at bay. But when a new bad guy came to town, he ended up on the med bay table with several lacerations along his arms and back and a bruise in the shape of a boot along his right side just below the new tattoo.

As he limped into the foundry that night after the epic fight ended (Lance picked up the bad guy and threw him into Iron Heights soon after it was over), Oliver knew he was about to get an earful from the blonde waiting for him at the bottom of the steps, but the angry look on her face quickly morphed into one of concern as she helped him to the table.

He tried to take his jacket off by himself, but the pain radiating out from all his injuries made it nearly impossible.

"Here, let me help," Felicity said as she stepped behind him and gently began pulling the green leather down his arms. "Oh, Oliver…" She sucked in a breath when she saw just how badly he was injured. "Dig, you're gonna need to help me tonight."

The older man had just stepped off the landing and was headed their direction with a single nod of his head. Then he paused for a moment, noticing the new ink. It looked as if Diggle was about to say something, but changed his mind at the last minute, smiling and shaking his head at his partner instead. He joined Felicity a moment later, helping her stitch up the worst of the cuts on Oliver's back.

When she moved around the table to assess the bruise against his side, her eyes also caught sight of the new tattoo. "Huh," was all she said, her head tilting to the side before she looked up to study his face. "New tattoo?" Felicity finally asked.

"Adding to the collection," Oliver simply replied with a coy smile.

She scurried out of sight and returned with an ice pack along with several bandages and a tube of arnica gel. As he fingers gently worked the gel into his skin, Felicity's eyes would dart up to his face for a moment before returning their focus to the task at hand. He knew her curiosity was getting the better of her, but she wasn't about to ask. She never pressed him for answers, which he was grateful for, but for the first time, Oliver actually wanted her speak up.

But Felicity remained ever focused on wrapping the bruise with a bandage before setting the ice pack on top then wrapping it as well so it would stay in place. "I don't understand why people get tattoos," she suddenly muttered. "I mean, isn't that like a needle poking you a thousand times, injecting your skin with black pigment that's going to stay with you for the rest of your life? What if it turns out awful and you don't like it? Laser surgery to remove it costs three times more than the tattoo itself, so it's probably not the smartest idea."

"They're reminders of things that have happened in my life," Oliver finally spoke up.

She looked up at him sharply, not realizing she'd spoken the words out loud. "Oh…" Felicity breathed, not having expected an answer.

"I'll tell you about them someday," he said.

"I… I'd like that," she replied, giving him a soft smile before she looped an arm around his waist and helped him off the table. Together, they headed towards his cot where she eased him into the bedding, careful not to accidentally rip out any of the stitches she and Diggle had painstakingly sewn into his skin.

"Get some rest, okay?" Felicity said while tucking a blanket over his half naked body. "You can change out of your pants later. Right now, you need sleep."

"Okay," Oliver conceded. There was no reason to fight with her about this. He was exhausted from the fight.

"I'll be where I usually am if you need anything." And with that, she scurried off toward her computers, situating herself in her chair so she could see him out of the corner of her eye while she worked.

* * *

They were laying in bed together one night in the not so distant future, her head nestled against his shoulder with her hand resting against his bare chest as they watched TV on one of those rare nights where the others had all but forced them to take a break. They'd been working themselves ragged trying to figure out what their new target was doing with the equipment he was stealing from small appliance stores.

Her tiny fingers traced absent patterns against his skin, slowly making their way from his chest to his abdomen where they stopped along the line of characters down his right side. "What do they mean?" Felicity whispered.

"Hmm?" Oliver murmured back as he looked down at her. His eyes traveled to where her fingers were tracing the edges of his ink.

"Your tattoos," she said. "What do they mean? Well, aside from the Bratva one. That I already know, but what about the one of the dragon on your shoulder?"

Oliver sighed. He had promised to tell her someday. Taking a deep breath, he replied, "That was Slade's doing. He wanted to make sure I remembered the choice I made between Sara and Shado every time I looked at it."

By now, Felicity had already pulled away to stare at him as he spoke, and when he'd finished, her mouth hung open in shock. He could see the pain hidden in those pretty blue orbs, the regret for making him tell her that story. "I'm… I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Don't be," Oliver said. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead to ease whatever doubts she had asking him these questions. For the first time in a long time, he felt ready to talk about what happened on the island and off it.

"Then what do these mean?" Felicity asked, her fingers running along the Chinese characters along the right side of his abdomen.

Again, he explained, telling her exactly what each one meant until he got to the last one. "And this one," Oliver all but whispered as he placed his hand on hers where it rested just below the newest tattoo, "this one means 'happiness.'"

Her eyes darted up from where she'd been staring at the black ink to meet deep blue irises and a warm smile.

"It was the closest I could get to Felicity."

"I… You… What? But you got that before we even… Before everything..."

It was adorable watching her stumble over her words. Usually her brain-to-mouth filter worked a little better than that, but Oliver took it as a sign that he'd finally rendered her speechless. As Felicity continued to stare at him with wide eyes, his hands reached up to cup her face. "I know," he whispered before leaning in to kiss her.

"You got a tattoo, for me… willingly… before I even told you I loved you," she finally replied once they pulled apart. He was met with the most brilliant smile he'd ever seen in his life, so full of happiness and love that he couldn't help tilting forward again to press one more kiss to her lips.

"I did," he said. "You've always been my happiness, Felicity. Whenever I see this symbol, I always think of you because you make me so happy. You chase away the darkness, and even if things didn't pan out between us, I know I'd always have a reminder of that happiness."

This time, she kissed him, and didn't stop until they were both breathless. "You make me happy," she whispered against his lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They spent the rest of the night finding out just how much they loved each other, and when morning finally awoke them, she was late for work. That night, when they met again in the lair, Oliver watched her gingerly sit down in her seat, a hiss expelling from her lips when she put too much pressure on her left side. He crossed the distance in a few short strides to stand next to her.

"Felicity, are you okay?" he softly asked, his hand falling between her shoulder and giving them a gentle rub until she looked up at him with a smile on her face.

"I'm fine," she cheerily replied. "I have a surprise for you. Is anyone else around?"

"No, not yet," Oliver replied.

Felicity glanced around just to be sure then grabbed the hem of her shirt, slowly pulling it up until it just barely covered her breasts. Beneath the left one, above her heart, he saw a small patch of white gauze taped to her skin. As she peeled it away, his eyes widened and he couldn't help but reach out to touch to angry red flesh he saw that was now marked with his symbol: a green arrow. The significance of where she'd placed it wasn't lost on him.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

As a smile crawled onto his face, Oliver answered, "You… you got a tattoo… for me? But you hate needles."

"It wasn't so bad," Felicity said, "after I took three benzos to get over the nervousness." They both laughed before his hand gently reached out to place the gauze back over the fresh ink. Her shirt was rolled down and no one would ever know.

"I love you," Oliver whispered before leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips. "You really are a remarkable woman, Miss Smoak."

"And you, Mr. Queen, are the most remarkable man I've ever met," she replied. "I love you."


End file.
